28. Conrad
CONRAD
Conrad’s body was still buzzing with excitement from the spells he’d performed.
He had gotten to know everyone well enough that he no longer believed he was experiencing good luck.
Roger and Wyndham would not have suggested he and Sage perform magic together if they weren’t truly interested, if they didn’t believe it would be valuable or worth their time.
He and Roger continued their conversation for hours, discussing different spells Conrad and Sage might try, what ingredients would be best to use, and how much time they could devote to the project now and how much ought to wait until London.
It was all Conrad could think about for the remainder of the day. When he and Sage were back in their room, getting ready for bed, Conrad continued to chatter excitedly about the possibilities. As he pulled back the coverlet, he realized that Sage had barely spoken.
“Are you all right?”
“Of course,” Sage said crisply as he slipped out of his robe.
Conrad frowned, watching Sage slide under the sheets. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Sage met his concerned expression and sighed. “Nothing is wrong. I…I am not as strong with my magic as Wyndham, or Emrys, or even Keelan.” The words were said quietly. Another whispered confession.
Conrad relaxed. “My magic is certainly not as strong as Roger’s.
And it is incomparable to Torquil’s and Silas’.
They don’t want to watch us because our magic is powerful.
I rather think it would be better for them to see a range of power anyway.
We shall be a better indication of what they can expect of the general populace. ”
“I suppose.” Sage hadn’t moved from the other side of the bed, so Conrad turned on his side to look at him.
“How did the spell feel?” He’d been wondering about it for hours, but hadn’t had a chance to ask the question. He felt himself holding his breath, waiting for the answer.
Sage licked his lips before responding. “As I said before, it was powerful.”
Conrad laughed. “I cannot feel magic at all. I demand a better description than that. What does magic feel like to you?”
Sage turned on his side to face him, but kept his eyes angled down. “I think I can better explain it in contrast to how my magic usually feels. It is normally a sensation in my chest, a light presence, tendrils reaching outward.”
Conrad nodded, encouraging him to continue.
“When you cast your cleaning spell, I felt as though the warmth in my chest was filling my entire body. So when I say it was powerful, I mean that I could feel it everywhere. It was strong. Solid, as Wyndham said.” He finally looked up. “I’ve never felt anything like it.”
The words were said quietly and Conrad was familiar enough with his friend’s moods to recognize that there was some unspoken emotion underneath the confession.
But he couldn’t place what the emotion was.
He worried that it might be fear. He didn’t want any part of him to frighten Sage.
He also felt as though Sage was holding back more words and he didn’t know what to do to encourage him to say the rest.
But then Sage reached out and stroked Conrad’s cheek with the backs of his fingers. “You’re remarkable, you know,” he said softly.
Conrad smiled and caught Sage’s hand in his own, placing a kiss on his knuckles. “Thank you,” he whispered.
“Still strange, though,” Sage added with a smirk.
Conrad laughed, slipped an arm around Sage’s waist, and tugged him closer. “Thank you for telling me.”
Sage closed the distance between them with a kiss. It was soft and sweet. Then he leaned his forehead against Conrad’s. “Just rein in your expectations for tomorrow. I mean it when I say my magic is not strong. It will be nothing like Roger and Wyndham’s breeze spell.”
Conrad cupped his cheek. “Remember what I’ve told you? Whatever you have to offer, Sage, it’s enough.”
* * *
The next day, Sage joined Conrad for breakfast again.
Conrad did his best to stifle a grin at having the man by his side at the table.
He and Roger picked up the conversation where they had left off the previous day.
Roger explained which ingredients he had prepared for their project, and they discussed which spell ought to be done first. Torquil joined in to give their opinion and express interest in the results.
Sage was silent throughout the meal, but Conrad suspected it was due to nerves about his magic.
When Wyndham stood and said it was time to return to the study, Sage quietly accepted Conrad’s hand and followed him up the stairs. Once the door clicked shut behind them, Roger clapped his hands together and launched straight into a little speech.
“Conrad and I have agreed that levitation will be a good start. It’s something of a straightforward spell, more specific than a breeze spell. And Sage can help buoy the item with his own magic.” He smiled at Sage as he said this.
“You can use wind currents to do that,” Wyndham added.
Roger continued, “We’ll use a handkerchief to start, which should keep anything extreme from happening, but Wyndham will be monitoring everything just in case. Any questions?” He glanced between them both.
Sage pressed his lips together for a moment. “Will Conrad be using raw ingredients again?”
Roger seemed delighted by the question. “Yes! We’ve found that raw ingredients work best for collaborative casting. The magic in the item is such that the fae participant can more easily access it. And as you’ve seen, it strengthens the power of the spell for the human, as well.”
Sage nodded.
“And I thought it might be best for you to cast on the desk instead of the floor,” Roger went on. “Easier for Sage to see your work, and then he can stand next to you. That sometimes helps.”
Conrad cheerfully went to the desk and began writing out the sigils to the levitation spell. As he was using fresh clover instead of the powdered variety, he added the Bokemann Modulation to reduce everything in the spell. Then he glanced at Roger to look over his work.
Roger came forward eagerly. “I really appreciate how clean your work is. You don’t add two sigils when one will do. You don’t overcomplicate things. Your approach to magic is very concise.”
Conrad tried not to puff out his chest at the praise. “Thank you.”
“Perhaps you ought to feel out with your magic before Conrad casts, Sage,” Wyndham said. “See if you can get a feel for the spell now. Familiarity with the setup will make it easier to integrate your own magic later.”
Sage was tense beside Conrad, but he nodded his understanding. His focus seemed to go inward for a moment and his jaw tightened. He gave a slight nod.
Conrad took it as his cue and cast. The handkerchief flew to the ceiling. Conrad laughed. “Well, we know it was effective.”
Wyndham studied it for a moment. “Indeed. It could probably do with further reduction next time. Sage, see if you can press the handkerchief downward with your magic.”
A muscle in Sage’s jaw ticked a little as he complied. The handkerchief bobbed a bit. Sage made a frustrated sound at the back of his throat and the handkerchief bobbed again.
Wyndham hummed. “Perhaps a different tactic. Working against Conrad’s magic may not be the best choice, now that I think about it. Let’s get your magics to work together. See if you can move it across the room, since Conrad’s magic is keeping it afloat.”
Sage took a deep breath and the handkerchief began to drift to the side. Conrad gasped in delight.
“Keep going,” Wyndham murmured.
The handkerchief continued to move. Then it went from inching slowly across the top of the room to shooting across with as much speed as it had gone up. When Conrad’s spell finally lost power and the handkerchief flopped down to the ground, Sage was breathing heavily.
“All right?” Conrad asked him with a hand on his arm.
Sage nodded, but his gaze was locked on Wyndham.
Wyndham smirked. “Interesting what happens to magic when it combines with another person’s, isn’t it?”
“I was having difficulty following along,” Roger admitted. “What happened? Why did it start off so slowly?”
Wyndham didn’t respond, waiting for Sage to answer.
Sage swallowed. “At first, I tried to move the handkerchief independently of Conrad’s spell.
It’s the only way I’ve ever used my magic.
But then I felt out for Conrad’s magic and was able to…
weave the power he had put into the spell into what I was doing. ”
Roger grinned. “Delightful! Shall we try again with the same spell or something different?”
“You can decide,” Sage said to Conrad without looking at him.
Conrad wanted to pull the other man into his arms and tell him he was doing marvelously. But Sage was keeping his emotions under guard. Wyndham seemed to be studying the other fae with as much focus.
“Let’s try this one again once more,” Conrad said.
“Excellent,” Roger said. “Since your spellpaper is so clean, you should be able to use it all again.”
Wyndham plucked the handkerchief off the ground and handed it over. Conrad placed the handkerchief in the center of the paper again and glanced at Sage. “Ready?”